This invention relates to dust collection apparatus for use in the production of vehicle tires.
As part of the tire manufacturing process, one of the final steps is to balance the tire by grinding rubber away from appropriate portions of the tire tread or shoulder, so that proper dynamic balancing of the tire is achieved. This is commonly carried out by machines such as the P-855 model D70 tire uniformity machine manufactured by Akron Standard.
Similarly, the side walls of tires are often ground, as part of the process of producing white-wall tires.
In both of these grinding procedures, a large amount of dust is produced, a substantial portion of which clings to the tire and is eventually shipped with the tire, resulting in an end product which is somewhat dirtier and less aesthetically appealing than is desirable. In handling the tires, a certain amount of this dust inevitably comes off, requiring cleaning to varying degrees at every step, right up to and including the floor of new car dealerships.
There is therefore an obvious need to remove this dust during the grinding process, and indeed tire manufacturers have adopted various ad hoc measures to remove the dust from the regions of the grinding machine
However, to date there has been no satisfactory method of collecting the dust as it is produced, and in particular there has been no satisfactory method of actually removing the dust from the surface of the tire (as opposed to collecting airborne dust in the region of the grinder).